Hair roller



Oct. 28, 1969 I s. s. CALANDRA 3,474,797

HAIR ROLLER Filed July 18. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F" INVENTOR- BY SAM s. C/IZANDRA Oct. 28, 1969 s. s. CALANDRA 3,474,797

HAIR ROLLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1968 BY 514M 3. C/MA/VDPA W 8km! ATTORNEY FIG. l6

United States Patent O 3,474,797 HAIR ROLLER Sam S. Calandra, 141 Greenfield Drive,

, Tonawauda, N.Y. 14150 Filed July 18, 1968, Ser. No. 745,773 Int. Cl. A45d 2/36 US. Cl. 13240 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An hair roller construction having hook or pile components'mounted on the ends of a mandrel for attachment to Opposite components on an adjacent mandrel, thereby eliminating the use of pins for attaching the rollerto the hair. This foregoing includes the use of composite bands which include subbands of each component at each end of the mandrel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved hair roller construction and an improved system utilizing the improved construction.

In the past hair rollers of the type used to style womens hair have generally required attachment devices such as clips, pins or the like to hold them in position on the head. Due to the general inconvenience of using this type of 'hair roller, attempts have been made to make the rollers self-adhering. Certain rollers included hook-like constructions on their surface, which would attach to the hair. However, when enough attaching force was used to fasten the roller securely to the hair against accidental dislodgin'g, as during sleep, the hair would be severely disheveled when the rollers were pulled therefrom. An-

other type of prior roller used magnetic ends, and in this 'type the rollers, after having had hair wound thereon would be attached to each other with the opposite poles of adjacent magnets in contact. This type was also subject to certain shortcomings. During installation care had "to be taken to place the north and south poles of adjacent magnets in engagement. Otherwise, they would not adhere to each other. Furthermore, it was difficult to separate the rollers from each other prior to mounting when they were stored at random in 'a box because they would naturally attract each other. Furthermore, the magnetic rollers could not be positioned at a slight angle to each other as was required in certain styling procedures because as soon as the rollers were placed within a certain distance of each other, they would automatically snap into lockihig engagement. Also, the magnetic ends would cause the rollers to be relatively heavy and therefore, considering that as many as thirty rollers could be used for an hair setting, there was a burden on the wearer. In addition,

because of the fact that the rollers were frequently SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly one important object of the present invention to provide an improved hair roller and system utilizing such rollers in which adjacent rollers can be .fastened to each other easily and surely after hair is --wound thereon, thereby obviating the use of pins, clips "ice and other fastening devices and which are of sufliciently lightweight so that a large number can be placed in position on a persons head without imposing the burden of rollers which include heavy parts such as magnets.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair roller and system utilizing such hair rollers which will not adhere to each other when stored in a container and therefore can be removed from the container without requiring the added effort and inconvenience of detaching the rollers from each other.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair roller and system utilizing such hair rollers which will attach to each other when in installed position on a persons head but will not attach to the hair and therefore can be removed from a persons head without exerting a pulling force on the hair. A related object is to provide improved hair rollers which will adhere to each other even when they are wet with hair dressing or water.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair roller and system utilizing such hair rollers in which the rollers can be oriented in any desired relationship and at any desired angle relative to each other on a persons head and which will remain in such position because the rollers will not be attracted to each other.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair roller and a system utilizing such rollers in which the rollers may be taken at random from a container and mounted on the head of the wearer without the requirement that they be oriented in any predetermined relationship prior to mounting. 7

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair roller and system utilizing such rollers which can be fabricated from readily available components in a relatively simple manner and at a relatively low cost.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro vide an improved hair roller and system utilizing such hair rollers which will retain their attaching force even if subjected to heat and the shock of being dropped. Other objects and attendant "advantages of the present invention will readily be perceived hereafter.

The improved hair roller comprises an elongated mandrel having a central portion for receiving hair to be wound thereon and first and second end portions flanking said central portion containing mating components of hook pile fabric thereon. In the preferred embodiment bands each containing a plurality of subbands consist of hook fabric and pile fabric which are circumferentially mounted at each end of the roller. When the rollers are placed adjacent to each other and the bands of one component on the first roller are placed in engagement with the bands of the opposite components on the second roller, they will automatically adhere thereto without engaging the hair. The bands are such that the rollers need not be in exact alignment but may be displaced from each other to still provide the good holding relationship. In other embodiments the improved roller may contain one band of pile fabric at one end thereof and one band of hook fabric at the other end thereof. In this embodiment the rollers must be oriented so that the hook fabric of one roller meets with the pile fabric of the adjacent roller. In yet another embodiment first rollers have two spaced bands of hook fabric thereon and other rollers have two spaced bands of pile fabric thereon. With this embodiment alternate rollers must contain the hook fabric and alternate rollers the pile fabric in order to effect the adhering relationship therebetween. The various aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specificationv are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a first type of roller;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a second type of roller for mating engagement with the roller of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention having a band of hooked fabric at one end and a band of pile on the other end;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another modification of the present invention having having a plurality of bands of pile and a band of hooked fabric at one end and a plurality of bands of hooked fabric and a band of pile at the other end;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention with tabs of hooked fabric at the opposite ends;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a roller having tabs of pile fabric at its opposite ends for mating engagement with the roller of FIGURE 5 FIGURE 7 is another embodiment of the present invention showing the fabric mounted on a collar to make it higher than it would normally be if it were mounted directly on the roller itself;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic view showing the manner in which the rollers can be oriented relative to each other in any desired position;

FIGURE 9 is a schematic view showing how the rollers are attached to each other when the mandrel portions lie parallel to each other;

FIGURE 10 is a schematic representation of how the rollers of FIGURE 4 are oriented when nonidentical ends are caused to adhere to each other;

FIGURE 11 is a schematic view showing how the rollers of FIGURE 4 are oriented when identical ends are caused to adhere to each other;

FIGURE 12 is a schematic view showing how the rollers of FIGURE 3 adhere to each other;

FIGURE 13 is a schematic end view of the construction of the hooked fabric;

FIGURE 14 is a schematic plan view of the construction of the hooked fabric;

FIGURE 15 is a perspective view of a plurality of rollers on the head of the wearer; and

FIGURE 16 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified manner of mounting the hooked or pile fabric over the end of the mandrel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGURES 1 and 2 rollers 10 and 11 are shown which are intended to be used together. Roller 10 includes a cylindrical hollow mandrel portion 12, preferably of a suitable plastic or other lightweight material, having ventilating apertures 13 therein. Spaced circumferentially extending bands 14 of hooked fabric 15 are cemented or otherwise suitably attached'in position on the ends of mandrel 12. The central portion of mandrel 12 between bands 14 is for receiving the hair which is wound thereon and after the hair is completely wound, the bands 14 will be proximate the scalp. Bands 14 may extend around the ends 16 of mandrel 12, if desired, as shown in FIGURE 16.

After the hair is wound on a roller, such as 10, a roller, such as 11, is placed in position immediately adjacent to roller 10 by winding hair about the central portion 17 of mandrel 18 which may be identical to mandrel 12 and which has ventilating apertures 19 therein. Circumferentially encircling mandrel 17 at opposite ends thereof are bands of pile fabric 20 which are suitably secured in position by any suitable adhesive. The pile fabric 20 may also entend over the ends 21 of mandrel 18, as

4, shown in FIGURE 16, so that the hooks 15 may attach thereto when rollers 10 and 11 are in an orientation which requires this, as shown in FIGURE 8. After the hair has been fully wound on the mandrel 11 so that it occupies an adjacent position to mandrel 10, the pile 20 is pressed against hooks 15, as best shown in FIGURE 9, to maintain the rollers assembled relative to each other and prevent the hair which is mounted on the central portions thereof from becoming unwound.

It will be seen that neither the hook fabric 15 or the pile fabric 20 engages the hair. These fabrics merely engage each other and therefore there is no need to pull the hair from entangling engagement with the adhering portions of the rollers. Yet the attachment between the hook and the pile fabrics is a solid one which will prevent accidental dislodging of the rollers from the hair, especially considering that the bond between the rollers and the hair is effected by winding the hair on the central portions of the rollers and then attaching the rollers to each other in the above described manner.

It will be seen that when mounting rollers such as 10 and 11 on the head of a wearer, these rollers have to be placed in an alternate relationship with each other, that is, the hair is first Wound on a roller containing pile and thereafter the adjacent roller onto which the hair is wound, contains hooks and the next roller will contain pile because it is not proper for attachment purposes to place two rollers adjacent to each other which contain the same type of fastening component. In the foregoing manner chains consisting of as many as twelve to fifteen rollers may be applied to the head of the wearer,

The hook fabric 15 and the pile fabric 20, noted above and referred to hereafter, arecommercially obtainable under the trademark Velcro wthich is commercially known as hook-pile fabric. The hook fabric and the pile fabric are thus components of hook-pile fabric. It will be appreciated that the present invention may utilize any type of hook-pile fabric and need not necessarily be restricted to the specific fabric shown. By way of broad background, the hook fabric consists of a backing which contains resilient nylon bristles or hooks extending from the surface thereof, and the pile fabric contains a closely spaced randomly oriented fuzzy pile into which the hooks 15 penetrate and onto which they look, as is well known in the art. As shown in FIGURES 13 and 14, the hook fabric contains horizontal and vertical rows of yieldable catch members 35 and 36 separated by horizontal spaces 37 and vertical spaces 47. Each catch member 35 extends up wardly from base 38 and has a hook shaped outer end 39. A leg 40 is in line with the hooked end of each member 35. As can be seen from FIGURE 13, essentially each catch member 35 and leg 40 comprises an U-shaped member which is separated at 41. The ends of legs 40 are substantially in line with the ends of hook members 35 and are in contact to form members of U-shape. In the drawing spaces 41 have been shown for ease of illustration only. Essentially each combination of elements 35 40 is in the nature of a snap hook. Therefore, when the hook fabric is pressed into the random fuzzy pile-of the pile fabric, the catch members 35 will hook onto the filaments of the pile fabric to retain the two in adhering relationship. The randomly oriented pile fabric is shown in the embodiments of FIGURES 1-4. When the hook and pile fabrics are separated by a pulling force, the yieldable nature of the hooks will permit them to release the pile.

In FIGURE 3 another embodiment of the present invention is shown. This embodiment includes a mandrel 22 which may be identical in all respects to mandrels 10 and 11 of FIGURES 1 and 2. However, this embodiment mounts a circumferential band of hook fabric 23 at one end and a circumferential band of pile fabric 24 at the other end. In use rollers of this type may be identical to adjacent rollers, and when they are mounted in position on a wearers head, it is merely necessary to orient the hook fabric of one roller in contact with the pile of an adjacent roller so that there are two areas of engagement between the hook and the pile of each roller. This is schematically shown in FIGURE 12. By the use of this embodiment it is not necessary to use alternate rollers of different types but merely the identical rollers in a different orientation.

In FIGURE 4 still another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed which includes a mandrel 25 which may be identical to any of the mandrels discussed above. However, the orientation of the hook and pile fabric on this embodiment differs. More specifically, in this embodiment there is a first circumferentially extending composite band 25 at one end thereof and a second circumferentially extending composite band 26 at the other end thereof. Band 25 includes two spaced subbands of pile fabric 27 and 28 bracketing a central subband of hook fabric 29. Band 26 at the opposite end includes two subbands of hook fabric 30 and 31 bracketing a central band of pile fabric 32. The outer subbands on each end may extend over the end 25' of the mandrel, as broadly shown in FIGURE 16. With the roller of FIGURE 4 there is no need whatsoever to orient the ends of adjacent rollers in any predetermined relationship as with the embodiment of FIGURE 3. In this embodiment, rollers are merely picked at random from a container and the hair is wound thereon without orienting the ends of the rollers relative to each other. If it turns out that two spaced subbands of hook fabric of one roller are in alignment with two spaced subbands of pile fabric of an adjacent roller, the two rollers are merely pressed together and this will automatically cause the central hook band at each end of the roller to automatically engage with the central pile band of the adjacent roller to provide firm interlocking engagement. This is shown in FIGURE 10. However, if for any reason the second roller is oriented so that the pile and hook subbands of the adjacent rollers at both ends are in alignment with each other, which would preclude their adhering to each other, then it is merely necessary, after'the -hair has been wound on the second roller, to merely displace the second roller axially the width of one subband so that there will be firm mating engagement between the two subbands of hook and pile fabric at each end, rather than engagement between three subbands at each end, as was the case when the different bands at the opposite ends were placed in exact alignment, as described in detail above. This is shown in FIGURE 11. It will be appreciated that the hook and pile fabrics at each end may be oriented in any other desired configuration which will permit the rollers to be applied without the requirement of preorienting them before application, and they need not necessarily be oriented in the form of subbands as shown.

It will readily be seen that with the embodiment of FIGURE 4, which is the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there need be no preorientation of the rollers before winding the hair thereon, as with the embodiment of FIGURE 3, or preselection of the rollers before winding the hair thereon, as with the embodiment of FIGURES 1 and 2. If desired, the different subbands may be of different colors to facilitate the alignment of the opposite components of the hook-pile fabric. The subbands are on the order of one-eighth inch wide so that the axial displacement between adjacent rollers, as in FIGURE 11, is only this small amount. It will be appreciated that the pile on the subbands is relatively dense whereas there are spaces between the hooks. Therefore, the pile will tend to prevent hair from extending below the level of the hooks in the embodiment of FIGURE 4, and thus preclude the inadvertent snagging of the hair by the hooks.

In FIGURES 5 and 6 another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. In FIGURE 5 a mandrel 33 is shown which may be identical in all respects to the previous mandrels discussed above. This mandrel has bands of pile fabric 34 and 35 mounted thereon. Band 34 includes a continuous circumferentially extending base portion 36 which is cemented to the inside at the ends of mandrel 33. Tabs 37 are formed at the portions which extend outside of mandrel 33, with slits 38 therebetween. An identical construction is provided at the opposite end. This roller is one of a set which is used, and the second roller is shown in FIGURE 6 and includes a mandrel 39 having hook fabric attached to the opposite ends. In this respect a continuous circumferentially extending band 40 is mounted within the mandrel and secured thereto with a suitable adhesive, and tabs 41 spaced by slots 42 protrude beyond the end of the mandrel. Tabs 41 are composed of hook fabric. In use mandrel 39 is located adjacent mandrel 33 after both have hair wound thereon and the hook fabric is digitally pressed into the pile fabric to hold both in assembled relationship.

In FIGURE 7 still another embodiment of the present invention is shown which includes a mandrel 43 having a collar 44 formed integrally therewith and the fabric, whether it be hook fabric or pile fabric 45 is mounted on collar 44 for the purpose of providing a greater depth on the central portion of the mandrel to receive hair. If desired, collar 44 may form a portion of any of the embodiments shown in FIGURES 1 through 4 for the same purpose.

In FIGURE 8 a schematic representation is shown of a plurality of rollers 22 oriented with respect to each other in any desired orientation so as to permit the styling of the hair as required. In this embodiment the hook fabric 23 of one roller is attached to the pile fabric 24 of another roller. It will be appreciated that the rollers will remain in the position in which they have been assembled since there is no external force, which could pull them together, as with magnetic rollers, or permit them to separate. The orientation of FIGURE 8 is obtainable with the embodiments shown in FIGURES l-4, and the adhesion between adjacent rollers is enhanced if the fabric, either hook or pile, extends around the ends of the mandrels, as discussed above, and as shown in FIGURE 16. The wrapping of the fabric around the ends of the mandrel, as shown in FIGURE 16, may be incorporated into any of the embodiments of the present invention except FIGURES 5 and 6. As can be seen from FIGURE 16, the pile fabric 20 extends around the end of the mandrel 20 and forms a hem 20', which insures that the ends of the mandrel are covered. The end of the mandrel may be covered by hook fabric in the same manner as the pile fabric described in FIGURE 16 if the adjacent fabric is hook fabricuIn the embodiment of FIGURE 4, since subband 27 is pile, the portion which would extend around the end in accordance with the teaching of FIGURE 16 would be pile; and since the subband 31 is hook, the portion extending around the end would be hook.

In the embodiments of FIGURES l, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 the hair rollers are fabricated by winding an elongated strip of either the hook or pile fabric onto the ends of a mandrel and cementing it in position as described above. However, if desired the hook and pile fabric may be fabricated in ring form, that is, with a continuous circumference and slipped over the ends of the mandrels. This particular procedure is especially advantageous with embodiments mounting a fabric of the form shown in FIGURE 16. In this respect the fabric can be preformed into a continuous ring in the configuration shown in FIGURE 16 and merely slipped over the ends of the mandrel to provide the finished product.

While the above description has referred to the conventional type of hair roller, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention can be applied equally well to permanent wave rods which are elongated mandrel devices which are placed in the hair for providing a base for curling hair thereon and onto which chemical solutions are applied to provide the desired hair setting.

Furthermore, while a specific type of cylindrical mandrel has been shown, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention are equally applicable to any form of mandrel whether it be made of solid plastic, as shown, or a grill-work type of cage or is made of a metal mesh or any other material or configuration for supporting hair thereon. The hair-receiving surface of the mandrel can be plain or roughened in any conventional Way for causing the hair to adhere thereto during winding.

I claim:

1. A hair roller construction comprising an elongated mandrel having an hair-receiving portion for receiving hair to be wound thereon, a first end band on said mandrel containing hook fabric and a second end band on said madrel containing pile fabric, said first and second end bands extending circumferentially about said mandrel flankin said hair-receiving portion.

2. A hair roller construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second end bands include both hook fabric and pile fabric.

3. A hair roller construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein each band includes a plurality of circumferentially extending adjacent subbands of said hook and pile fabrics.

4. A hair roller construction as set forth in claim 3 wherein said first band includes two subbands of said hook fabric bracketing a single band of said pile fabric wherein said second band includes two subbands of said pile fabric bracketing a single band of said hook fabric.

5. A hair roller construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of said bands extends around the end of said mandrel to permit a roller to be secured to an adjacent roller when the axes of said rollers extend transversely to each other.

6. A hair roller system comprising first and second hair rollers for placement in contiguous locking relationship with each other on a persons head with each of said rollers comprising a hair-receiving portion for receiving hair to be wound thereon, said first roller having a first area of hook fabric thereon and said second roller having a second area of pile fabric thereon for mating engagement with said hook fabric when said first and second rollers areplaced in said contiguous relationship whereby said first and second rollers may be held in position on said persons head by virtue of being fastened to said persons hair and to each other.

7. A hair roller system as set forth in claim 6 wherein said first area on said first roller comprises two spaced bands of said hook fabric extending circumferentially about said first roller on opposite sides of said hairreceiving portion thereof and wherein said second area on said second roller-comprises two spaced bands of said pile fabric extending circumferentially about said second roller on opposite sides of said hair-receiving portion thereof.

8. A hair roller system as set forth in claim 6 wherein said first area on said first roller includes both said hook and pile fabrics and wherein said second area of said second roller includes both said hook and pile fabrics.

9. A hair roller system as set forth in claim 8 wherein said first area and second area are each two separate areas spaced on opposite sides of said hair-receiving portion with one of said separate areas of each roller containing hook fabric and the other of each of said separate areas of each roller containing pile fabric.

10. A hair roller system as set forth in claim 9 wherein each of said first and second separate areas comprises composite first and second bands of said hook and pile fabrics on opposite sides of said hair-receiving portions.

11. A hair roller system as set forth in claim 6 Wherein said first and second areas of each roller extends around the end of said mandrel to permit said rollers to be attached to adjacent rollers when the axes of said rollers extend transversely to each other. I

References Cited LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner JAMES W. MITCHELL, Assistant Examiner 

